The big banks are seeing an increase in cyberthreats, and these attacks are only becoming more sophisticated.

Hackers are capable of stealing vast amounts of cash and notably siphoned $81 million from Bangladesh Bank in 2016 through SWIFT, a global network that thousands of institutions around the world use to communicate and move money. The bank ended up blaming the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for allowing the money transfers to go through.

The prospect of a cyberattack is keeping bank CEOs, like JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon, up at night.

Dimon recently spoke to Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal about being the last CEO standing from the 2007-08 financial crisis and the challenges our financial system might have to face the next time around.

I have listened to Marketplace for over a decade. Mostly on, sometimes spot-on.

In 2007 Bill Gates warned us that the internet would become too vulnerable over time in it's current configuration to conduct commerce on. He predicted 10-15 years we would see either a radical redesign or the freezing of commerce due to hacking attacks. There hasn't been much on redesign so....

From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be rememberèd—
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother

I think the market is ok with these recent movements. Trump said roughly last December "look, the market is up a bunch over when [Trump] took office, we can afford to lose a few points and we are still ahead." Which I think is basically correct. He was talking about taking on trade with China, but I think his logic is sound. Not pleasant to hear, but I think his logic is basically sound.

Further, what if the market tanks today? Really goes all 1927 on us? What is that really going to do? For me, it means my family and I will have to adjust some things and probably move in with one set of parents for a time while a new career, probably in ditch digging, is started and built.

I think it is important to monitor these ups and downs, but be mentally flexible enough to adjust and adapt and do whatever is necessary to keep on trucking if something really goes South. I think it is important to accept the world as it is, rather than letting fear of the world "as it could be" consume us. And yes, we could wake up tomorrow with a crazy crashed economy. That is a reality every day. It has been for a long time. Based on the book "Deep Survival" I think we have a choice, to accept or to fight reality, and survivors accept reality. Even if it sucks and they don't like it. So again, I think monitoring this stuff is important, but should not consume us.

I"m not calling anyone out or anything. I just think we all read the stuff here and it hits some of us pretty hard. I think there are some important things to keep in mind to help keep it all in perspective.

Also, my wife says it is stupid to worry about all this because the aliens will come and make slaves of us all before the economy crashes anyway. Get ready for probing by your new overlords.

I love my wife.

*Remember: I'm just a guy on the internet
*Don't go to stupid places with stupid people & do stupid things.
*Be courteous. Look normal. Be in bed by 10'clock.

“It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.” -Bilbo Baggins.

I can barely remember the 73 oil crisis. It was not a good time. I remember 79 more so. Also not fun. That said, global energy is different now, so I'm not worried about a repeat. SA still commands a respectable chuck of the crude market, so I'm not saying nothing will/could/might hsppen.

Two of the largest fronts in the trade war have been settled. The big one is still China. China did not realize when they decided to fight that they could not win. I think they have figured that out by now but what to do next will wait till after the election.

Raising interest rates is keeping the economy in check and from overheating. This has created an entertaining "unpossible" scenario of tighter money in a rapidly growing economy. The growth of course is coming from the energy sector and (because of the trade war) the manufacturing sector. I can't say I have seen the economy doing better in the last 35 except during the dot.com bubble build up. The energy sector will continue to enjoy lots of real growth. If the trade wars continues for any length of time the manufacturing sector will go nuts.

Real unemployment is almost non-existent. There is a whole large industry now built around providing fake pee samples and delivery systems to get the drug addicted chronically unemployed working. If the guy selling you gas or making your burger looks high, he probably is.

From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be rememberèd—
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother

Real unemployment is almost non-existent. There is a whole large industry now built around providing fake pee samples and delivery systems to get the drug addicted chronically unemployed working. If the guy selling you gas or making your burger looks high, he probably is.

The folks at the drug lab have all sorts of stories. 1) A black guy comes in, steps up to bat, and whips out a white fleshy member. He is confronted and insists and insists it really is him and that it is real. The tech, who was also black, was fairly sure that is not how it works and eventually got him sorted out. 2) A few weeks ago a white dude comes strutting in. He steps up to bat and what he whips out, no white man has ever before brandished. Dark as midnight. The tech, this time a white guy, is new and trying to figure out how to handle things. Being a former Marine he gets it figured out and gets this guy to use the proper equipment.

The world of clean pee is amazing.

Another story: 3) a guy gets busted for dirty pee. He insisted that is not possible. Yes, he had been using, but he had obtained clean pee. Further questioning and investigation revealed the person he was getting pee from was using.

It is a fun world we live in

*Remember: I'm just a guy on the internet
*Don't go to stupid places with stupid people & do stupid things.
*Be courteous. Look normal. Be in bed by 10'clock.

“It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.” -Bilbo Baggins.